A closer look at the fee-bee song of the chickadee

I woke up this morning to the beautiful whistled fee-bee song of the Black-capped Chickadee. Most people know that the chickadee sings Chicka-dee-dee-dee to communicate, not everyone realizes that they also sing a fee-bee song more often in the spring.

In the Wild Bird Guides: Black-capped Chickadee, Susan Smith writes the loud fee-bees actually involve three notes. The first (fee) is high, the second (bee) is low, and the third is slightly higher in pitch than the second, like they are singing hey sweetie.

These fee-bee songs in the morning are used by the males to attract a mate or once they have a mate, establish nesting territories. There is also a quieter fee-bee that the males use when talking to their mates. When a male approaches his nest he alerts his female with a faint fee-bee and both male and females use the little fee-beesong to tell their nestling that they’re there and food is coming.

Related Articles:

• What the "dee" in Chick-a-dee means http://goo.gl/ZMifX
• Why don't chickadees stay to eat at the feeder? http://bit.ly/AkKThH
• After chickadee babies have fledged http://bit.ly/yAYbP4
• Fun Facts About Chickadees http://bit.ly/zIDkCi
• What Do Black-Capped Chickadees Eat? http://bit.ly/zxi04X
• Bird of the Week: Black-capped Chickadee http://bit.ly/A1YFQ4